User:StoicLion/Planet Bean Coffee

Planet Bean is a coffee roasting company, located in Guelph, Ontario. Planet Bean coffee is made from 100% certified fair trade and organic Arabica beans. Planet Bean started roasting coffee downtown in 1997, and was the first roastery in the city for at least half a century. Planet Bean currently has two coffee bars, and is opening a third one in 2011. The company also has a wholesale business, which supplies cafes, restaurants, gourmet and specialty grocers, businesses, churches, universities and schools. In addition to coffee, Planet Bean also sells fair trade tea, sugar and chocolate.

Vision, mission and values
From the beginning, Planet Bean’s focus has been gourmet, certified fair trade and organic coffee. In order to achieve this goal, Planet Bean promotes environmental sustainability, economic democracy, and social justice in their business practices. Planet Bean claims to incorporate ethical practice, a passion for excellent coffee, respect, ecological sustainability and a co-operatively driven workplace into their business practices.

Planet Bean's Vision: "Planet Bean is an innovative business model that is fair, sustainable and passionate."

Planet Bean's Mission: "Planet Bean creates the best tasting coffee and through fair trade, links producers and consumers in a meaningful way."

Key people
Planet Bean is a co-operative, which means that anyone who works there for over a year may become a partial owner. Currently, 11 of Planet Bean's 25 employees are owners. The new coffee bar will employ 10 more people. Byron Cunningham is the company's President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and General Manager, and Bill Barrett is the Marketing Head and Co-Founder.

Harvesting
Planet Bean coffee is organically grown in the shade of tropical forests, 600-7200 metres above sea level. Shade grown coffee protects the natural habitat of animals and protects both farmers and consumers from harmful chemicals. Planet Bean sources Arabica coffee beans from countries around the globe such as Ethiopia, Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, and East Timor. When ripe, the beans are hand harvested by small scale farming families. Hand harvesting ensures the beans are ripe when picked. The beans (also called seeds) are then removed from their fruit exterior by either the "wet process" or the "dry process". The beans are then sorted by hand according to size and grade, and then bagged and prepared for shipping. Green coffee is very stable and has a long shelf life. It could be up to three or four months before the green beans are roasted.

Roasting
The process of roasting coffee used around the world today is based on the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony, inspired by the myth of Kaldi. First, the dried coffee beans are washed. Then they are placed on a flat pan over a fire and roasted at varying temperatures for different lengths of time to produce different flavours and aromas. The traditional prayer at the end of the coffee ceremony is, “Let your family live and your house stay in peace, let your children grow well, and let God give you the grace He has accorded to coffee.”

Planet Bean uses the same basic design that has been used for centuries of coffee roasting. They roast their coffee in a horizontal drum. Fire heats the sides of the drum as it rotates and the beans do several thousand laps inside the drum before exiting on the opposite side from which they came. The beans are then cooled rapidly to prevent continuous roasting. Planet Bean coffee is roasted fresh at their headquarters on Grange Road in Guelph, Ontario.

Brewing
Planet Bean's recommendations for brewing:


 * Use pure filtered water.
 * Brew at a constant temperature of approximately 90-95 degrees Celsius (195-205 degrees Fahrenheit).
 * Use an appropriate grind for brewing technology used. For example, when using a French press, a courser grind is required than for drip brew.
 * Length of time is dependent upon brewing technology used. Brew accordingly.
 * Use a ratio of 55 grams of ground coffee per litre of filtered water or 2.5 tablespoons of coffee per 6 ounces of water.

Current offerings
All of Planet Bean's roasts are made with 100% organic arabica beans.

Single origin bean coffees

 * Deep, Dark Guatemalan - Dark roast
 * French Roast Mexican Chiapas - Dark roast
 * Ethiopian Yirgacheffe TM - Citrus, floral and toffee notes
 * Ethiopian Sidamo TM - Blueberry and cocoa notes
 * Peruvian Café Femenino - Medium roast
 * Guatemalan Loma Linda - Light roast
 * Mexican Chiapas - Medium roast

Blends

 * Chatty Matty - A blend of lightly roasted and dark roasted beans
 * Morning Glory - Medium blend with a touch of dark
 * Freedom Fighter - Dark roast
 * Lava Java - Dark roast with citrus and dark chocolate notes
 * Peruvian Power - Medium/dark blend
 * Jumping Bean - Espresso blend

Swiss water process decaf coffees

 * European Blend Decaf - Medium roast
 * French Roast Peruvian Decaf - Dark roast
 * Full City Peruvian Decaf - Medium roast with cherry and chocolate notes
 * City Peruvian Decaf - Light roast

Fair trade and co-operative efforts
Co-operation and fair trade are Planet Bean’s main focus. The company believes that trade, economics and business should be all about people.

Fair trade coffee
Planet Bean joined Transfair Canada in 1998, making it one of the first certified fair trade coffee companies in Canada. Fair trade at Planet Bean means they have negotiated a fair price with their growers and, in addition, have paid an extra premium for investments in their communities.

In 2007, Planet Bean was the first Canadian company to sign a trademark agreement with Ethiopia. The agreement allows the company to use the names of coffees originating in Ethiopia, while allowing Ethiopian farmers more control in the market and a greater share in the retail price of their coffee. Planet Bean has been purchasing coffee from Ethiopia since 2002. Planet Bean sells exclusively 100% fair trade coffee. Selling only fair trade coffee ensures maximum profits for small-scale farmers, because they cannot use non-fair trade products to subsidize their fair trade products, thus making their product cheaper. In order to be labelled fair trade, a producer must meet specific criteria based on the standards set by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO).

Organic goodness
Planet Bean ensures that not only are the coffee beans organic, but that the warehouse, roastery and packaging facility are certified organic as well.

Co-operative business
Planet Bean has rejected the dominant business structure and chosen to operate as a co-operative. While fair trade alone has a positive impact on the farmer’s home economy by offering a greater share in profits, Planet Bean believes that a co-operative work environment has an even greater positive impact on both the farmers and their communities, from the social infrastructure it creates. Planet Bean is part of the Sumac Community Worker Co-operative. After a period of time, employees are able to join the worker co-operative and become a member of Sumac. Planet Bean’s co-operative business structure differentiates them from conventional business structures involved in fair trade. Planet Bean believes that a co-operative business structure is a foundational element of fair trade because it allows farmers and workers to better their lives through collective action.

Cafe femenino
Cafe Femenino is an initiative to benefit the women of the Northern Andes in Peru. These women are generally under the control of their husbands, live in isolation, have limited resources and no support network. These women grow their own coffee (Cafe Femenino) and keep it separate from the rest of the coffee grown. They then sell it and are able to keep the profits for themselves. Planet Bean imports and roasts Cafe Femenino, and includes it in their wholesale business as well as making it available in their cafes. Planet Bean also supplies Cafe Femenino free to local women's shelters through Women In Crisis (WIC).

This coffee is organically grown and certified fair trade, and the women are paid more than the official fair trade price for their coffee. Part of their income goes into a separate fund which they administer for community projects. Another effort of Cafe Femenino is to connect women locally and around the globe, and offer them support. There are now more than 750 women involved in 50 communities.

Fair Trade Canada
Planet Bean coffee is fair trade certified, and is allowed to use the fair trade certificate on their products.

Fair Trade International
Fair Trade International works with farmers around the globe to ensure fair trade in the International market. Planet Bean has signed a trademarking and licensing agreement with Ethiopia, which offers Ethiopian farmers control of their own coffee origins, and ensures that they receive the benefits they deserve.

Ecocert Canada
Ecocert Canada is a private organization that ensures organic authentication for Planet Bean. The benefit of authentication is that the company can claim that their product is organic and have a legitimate organization support this statement.

Roaster's Guild
The Roaster's Guild is an organization that promotes the craft of roasting coffee, and helps to further the skill of its members.

Special Coffee Association
The Special Coffee Association is a place where roasters can work collectively to better their coffee and provide resources for new roasters.

Green Business Award
Presented on November 23, 2010 by The Downtown Guelph Business Association. Awarded for being a business with a strong green initiative.